How am I in debt?

Welcome to the game, Phantom Patriot

1) Debt allows you to gather more influence/infamy before the next level
2) Paying off debt gets you badges
3) Debt slows your experience POINT gain, but allows you to gain more actual experience.
4) Chicks dig debt.

You are all forgetting one thing: Repeated death, even currently can provide enough debt to last multiple levels.

For instance, I have a dominator who dies at least 4 or 5 times per mission, often much more than that. Even in groups. Debt is still a massive pain for that character even under the current rules.

She picked up her third debt badge and the 1-hour mezzed badge (a not insignificant chunk of that from time spent stunned after using wakies with no breakfree) in the same mission right before hitting level 23. She is, I think, my only character with more progress on damage taken vs damage dealt. Though that is changing really fast now that I got her some AoE attacks.

I laugh at how often she gets dropped, because she still manages to be fun. And, as several have said, she's completed many more story arcs than the average character of her level.

That's still a lot of death. I have a dom in the 30s and he never died close to that much getting there. That's even though he did it in the days before recent buffs or even IOs. (Not that most people's characters probably get a lot of IO investment before 30, but just to be clear about his level of power.)

I think the only time he died 3-4 times in quick succession was trying to solo the SupahFreak EB.

If I remember the debt cap is about 40% of what it once was. If you are always in debt than I would have to suggest that you either reevaluate your tactics or difficulty setting for that character.

I can't play my sonic/electric defender the same way and with the same difficulty as my katana/regen scrapper (with reckless abandon aka scrapper lock).